This afternoon I attended a session at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival called “Technology and Hospitality: How to Strengthen Your Customer Experience.” Warby Parker’s Neil Blumenthal and Danny Meyer, Union Square Hospitality Group CEO and founder of Shake Shack, shared insights into how a people-first strategy sets their powerhouse brands apart in a crowded marketplace—and how a balance of tech solutions and a human touch create raves.
Talking tech + hospitality @ Skirball right now: @USHGNYC CEO Danny Meyer and @WarbyParker‘s Neil Blumenthal #FCNY16 pic.twitter.com/4BnurVUkvE
— Fast Company (@FastCompany) November 1, 2016
My takeaways (from Danny)…
Danny spoke about the reopening of Union Square Cafe which is slated to happen in three weeks and how the restaurant will use technology in improving the customer experience. Does this mean that robots will run the restaurant? No.
Apple Watches
No, the waitstaff won’t be taking your order with the Apple Watch. Sommeliers and Floor Managers will wear the device to communicate with staff. For example, the manager can alert the hostess that Table 42 is ready for the next guests to be seated or the manager can alert coat check that Table 31 has paid for their check and that they should get their coats ready because USC doesn’t allow tipping and guests will be ready to head out. The sommelier can alert the staff that they should grab a bottle of wine from the cellar as soon as the order is made, saving 8 minutes. Saving time improves the customer experience. I’m liking this already. This is using technology in a smart way.
Resy
Danny mentioned use of Resy to handle reservations and its use as a CRM, and how they could track what diners order. On the flip side, there are some changes coming to Resy for the end user. Diners will soon be able to invite other members of their group into the reservation so a restaurant can know all of the names in a given party. And if a diner is running late to their reservation, they can text that information to ResyOS and the restaurant will be alerted. Union Square Cafe will also make use of Resy Pay when it reopens, a feature that allows members of a party to split the check, pay individually on their phones, and leave at will, without waiting for everyone in the party to pay up.
Can’t wait for USC to reopen. It was the first Danny Meyer restaurant I dined at probably over 20 years ago.
